Hot Topics: Jon Bon Jovi is in the Business of Caring

If you’re a fan of Jon Bon Jovi—well, actually, even if you’ve never heard of him, can’t stand his guts nor his movie star good looks, loathe the man and his music for no particular reason, or just don’t give a damn because that’s just how you roll—you’ll be happy to know, despite your reasoning, the hard rockin’ man is a philanthropist at heart. So much so, in fact, that now he’s really flexing his philanthropic muscles and doing the whole put-up-or-shut-up thing, which is a very good thing, indeed.

This spring (no specific date has been released yet), hungry folks in and around Red Bank, New Jersey will have an opportunity to sit at the community table of Soul Kitchen. Soul Kitchen is a Community Restaurant with a solid belief that food can feed the soul. It is a venture made possible through The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping change the lives of those in need . . . one soul at a time.

No word yet on what type of cuisine the menu will consist of, but regardless of what meals you do find featured, what you won’t find is a price beside it. That’s because Soul Kitchen’s goal is to feed the community—not bleed it dry. Customers are asked to pay what they can afford for their meal. While there is a suggested price of $10 per person, a meal can still be had without any money exchanging hands. No one is ever turned away. If a customer can't afford to pay for their meal, they can volunteer at the Soul Kitchen in exchange for their meal and/or the meal of their family.

Soul Kitchen is all about community. While the idea of a ‘soup kitchen’ is not a bad thing, Soul Kitchen is more than that. It is also a place to pay it forward. Yeah, that term has turned into such a cliché as of late, but it seems appropriate and fitting at Soul Kitchen. Paying more than the suggested donation of $10 for a meal helps feed others in the community.